Center for rare diseases to be established in Qatar

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and Heidelberg University Hospital have signed an agreement to establish a National Center for Rare Diseases in Qatar.

The agreement was signed by dr. Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari, minister of public health, and by dr. Annette Gruters-Kieslich, chief medical director and chairman of the board of the university hospital in Heidelberg.

Over the weekend, HMC officials and the acclaimed German research institute met for the clinical, oncological and Doha-Heidelberg research conference. The conference also saw the opening of the first symposium on rare diseases, which illustrates the growing interest in this topic.

The dott. Al-Kuwari attended the opening ceremony of the conference and noted the importance of the collaboration between HMC and Heidelberg University Hospital.

"I am delighted to see the progress that has been achieved since an agreement between HMC and Heidelberg University Hospital was signed a year ago.We not only had the advantage of Heidelberg senior consultants visiting Qatar to provide specialist experience to our patients. But we also benefited from opportunities for joint training exercises, with many Qatari doctors studying at Heidelberg's world-famous facility, "said Dr al-Kuwari.

"As we work together to explore new ways of improving patient care, education, training and research, we will continue to look at areas where Qatar can develop further and one of these areas is the Center. National Center for Rare Diseases in Qatar This center will be a joint collaboration with the University Hospital in Heidelberg and will see the combination of the knowledge and skills of both organizations ", added Dr. Al-Kuwari.

Professor Gruters-Kieslich, who also presented a conference on the evolving concept of rare diseases, said she was confident that HMC and Heidelberg will continue to be strong partners, collaborating in a number of areas, including cancer research. and training.

The dott. Saad al-Kaabi, president of HMC's International Medical Affairs Office and chairman of the conference, said the conference provided a forum for clinicians, researchers, academics and health professionals to explore new clinical and research collaborations and to build on many of the collaborations.

"Last year we signed an agreement to deepen the long-standing relationship between HMC and the Heidelberg University Hospital and we have already seen significant benefits from the close cooperation between our institutions. organized a symposium on neuroscience coinciding with the Multiple Sclerosis Day and the Heidelberg University Hospital contributed numerous speakers to the program for our third annual breast cancer conference in October. HMC's radiology department also visited Heidelberg in May to explore potential areas of collaboration, "said Dr. Al-Kaabi.